OLDEN  TIkE  MUSIC 

IN  THE 
CONNECTICUT  VaLLEY 

by 


COLLINS  G.  BURNHAM, 


FROM   THE   LIBRARY   OF 

REV.   LOUIS    FITZGERALD    BENSON,   D.  D 

BEQUEATHED    BY    HIM   TO 

THE    LIBRARY   OF 

PRINCETON   THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY 


piTUdoa 


NEW  ENGLAND 
MAGAZINE 


$3  A  YEAR 


Vol.  XXIV.   No    1, 


MARCH. 


1901. 


Contents 


John  Boyle  O'Reilly 

Ropes  Of  Sand.      Illustrated 

a  Tulliilwi  li  Pnnni      ii 


Frontispiece 
Amelia  H.  Botsford 


rffe 


i.„~~i  p.. 


Olden  Time  Music  in  the  Connecticut  Valley. 

Illustrated.     Collins  G.  Burnharn 

A  Curious  New  Hampshire  Character. 


Clara  Spalding  Ellis 

,^....,—t     II  I    llfDMIIHI  II 


The  City  Of  Rochester.  Illustrated.  Raymond  H.  Arnot 
Q,UO  Vado?  A  Poem  ....  Mary  Augusta  Case 
A  Dangerous  Diverson.  A  Story  .  .  E.  Carl  Litsey 
Sojourner  Truth.  With  Portraits.  Lillie  B.  Chace  Wyman 
Nocturne.     A  Poem  with  illustration.  .        M.  T.  Maltby 

What  Ireland  has  Done  for  America. 

Illustrated.     F.  Spencer  Baldwin 
The  First  News.     A  Poem  .         .      Frank  Walcott  Hutt 

The  Heart  of  a  Red  Man.    A  Story. 

Esther  Talbot  Kingsmill 
Fanny  Fern  at  the  Hartford  Female  Seminary. 

Ethel  Parton 
Sealed  Orders,     A   Story         .         .         Leigh  Gordon  Giltner 
Editor's  Table 


1! 

31 
53 
54 
59 
67 

68 
85 

86 

94 

99 

107 


PUBLISHED    MONTHLY. 


Copyright,  1901,  by  Warren  F.  Kellogg. 
Entered  at  Boston  Post  Office  at  Second  Class  Mail  Matter. 


25c.  A  NUflBER 


You  see  the  Cook 
To  take  the  Mayor  to  the  show 
And     Spotless  Town  is  in  surprise 
To  see  them  win  the  cake-walk   prize 
The  pan-cake  offered   at     the    show 
It  cleans  the    pans_ 


SAPOLIO 


- 

"THE  WORLDS  LARGEST 
CORPORATIONS 
RAILROADS  AND 
MANUFACTURERS 

are  daily  using  many  thousands  of 

Smith  PremierTypdvriters 

because  they  possess  those  sterling- 
features  that  make  them  the  most 
economical  to  own." 

someSmith  Premier  attributes    ^ 

DURABILITY-  / 

CAPACITY  FOR  A 
LARGE  AMOUNT  //*     : 

OF  WORK-  <* 

GOOD  WORK  ALL  THE  TIME. 


Illustrated 
Catalogue 
free." 


The  SMITH  PREMIER 
TYPEWRITER 

Syracuse. n.y 

U.S.A. 


Typewriter 


for  both,  the   operator 
aivd  the  irvacKiive 


GRAND    PRIX,    PARIS,    1900. 

OUTRANKING    ALL    flEDALS. 


^  ur  rniNCejs 

MAR  3  1937 


THE 


New  England  Magazine. 


New  Series. 


MARCH,  1901. 


Vol.  XXIV.    No.  1. 


A    LULLABY. 

By  Richard  Burton. 

A   WITHERED  face  with  great  brown  eyes 
That  gazed  through  unwept  tears  ; 
A  smile  on  the  mouth  in  motherwise, 
And  tender,  full  of  years. 

Stretched  on  the  sand  a  man,  not  old, 

With  features  warped  by  sin, 
And  bad,  albeit  now  death-cold, 

All  passion  dead  within. 

But  ever  the  mother  sat  above 

Her  son  and  rocked  and  sang, 
As  though  deep  stirred  by  baby-love. 

While  thus  her  cracked  voice  rang: 

"Sun-gold  thy  hair,  darling, 
Sleep,  thou  art  fair,  darling, 
Shut  down  thy  pretty  eyes  ; 
Father  is  on  the  sea, 
Nobody's  by  but  me, 
Sleep,  for  the  waters  rise." 

So  sang  the  fish-wife,  bending  o'er 
Her  boy,  just  drowned  and  dead  ; 

Crazed  in  her  mind,  the  days  of  yore 
Kept  revel  in  her  head. 

"When  thou  art  old,  darling, 
Grown  brave  and  bold,  darling, 
Then  thou  shalt  have  a  wife ; 
Now  thou  art  only  mine, 
Little  and  fair  and  fine. 
Helpless  in  all  thy  life." 


OLDEN   TIME  MUSIC. 

The  man  lay  still,  and  the  sullen  look 

Was  ever  on  his  face  ; 
His  deeds  read  dark  in  the  judgment  book; 

His  lot  had  been  disgrace. 

But  the  mother  hugged  the  body  wet, 
Gray-haired,  and  dazed  in  brain. 

As  I  walked  away  she  was  singing  yet, 
Over  and  o'er  again: 

'  'Tis  time  to  wake,  darling, 
See!  light  will  break,  darling, 
Yonder  across  the  quay ; 
Come,  wee  one,  kiss  me  now 
Soft  on  my  cheek  and  brow ; 
Wake  for  the  love  of  me, 

My  boy,  my  joy, — 
For  the  love  of  me, — for  me!" 


OLDEN  TIME  MUSIC  IN  THE  CONNECTICUT 

VALLEY. 

By  Collins  G.  Burnham. 


THE  part  of  the  Connecticut  Val- 
ley with  which  this  article  deals 
is  its  Massachusetts  section. 
The  sources  of  information  concern- 
ing church  music  are  local — old  rec- 
ords, sermons  and  other  publications 
of  the  pastors,  but  chiefly  old  music 
books  published  in  the  Valley.  It  is 
difficult  to  obtain  exact  information 


concerning  the  books  that  were  used 
in  a  particular  church.  Psalm  and 
tune  book  was  not  generally  a  subject 
of  church  record. 

The  music  in  the  New  England 
churches  at  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century  was  generally  in 
a  deplorable  condition.  Unsingable 
versions  of  the  Psalms,  loss  of  skill  in 


OLDEN   TIME  MUSIC. 


13 


reading  music,  the  deaconing  of  the 
Psalms  and  other  causes  made  the 
service  of  song  a  doleful  affair.  There 
is  abundant  evidence  of  the  sad  neg- 
lect of  psalmody  till  it  became  a  de- 
batable question  whether  to  sing  or 
not  to  sing.  The  desire  for  an  im- 
provement in  this  part  of  worship  was 
awakened  by  the  ministers,  who  be- 
gan to  preach  and  to  publish  on  the 
"Reasonableness  of  Regular  Sing- 
ing." Those  who  preferred  the  irreg- 
ular way  of  singing  made  "cases  of 
conscience"  of  the  matter  and  stren- 
uously .opposed  the  innovation.  The 
period  of  improvement  began  near  the 
close  of  the  first  quarter  of  the  cen- 
tury. 

Church  music  in  the  Valley  felt  the 
influence  of  Jonathan  Edwards,  the 
fervid  preacher  and  profound  thinker, 
who  was  pastor  at  Northampton 
from  1727  to  1750.  The  revivals  in 
that  town  during  his  pastorate  made 
a  deep  impression  upon  New  Eng- 
land. The  churches  of  the  valley 
shared  in  the  influences  of  this 
"awakening."  Church  music  received 
an  impetus  at  this  time.  A  disposi- 
tion "to  abound"  in  the  "divine 
exercise"  of  singing  was  manifest. 
Especially  was  this  the  case  at 
Northampton.  There  the  people  sang 


with  greater  fervor  than  formerly  in 
the  public  worship.  They  sang  in  pri- 
vate houses  when  a  few  met ;  they 
sang  on  the  streets  on  their  way  to  or 
from  the  religious  services.  There 
was  criticism  o.f  the  singing  in  private 
houses.  Edwards  himself  complained 
of  its  "mismanagement."  Psalm 
singing  was  a  serious  affair  with  the 
people  of  those  days,  and  the  singing 
at  private  houses  was  not  always  at- 
tended with  that  reverence  and  deco- 
rum that  were  deemed  fitting  to  such 
a  "holy  act."  It  was  feared  that  "a 
mere  nothing"  would  be  made  of  the 
exercise  if,  while  two  or  three  were 
singing  Pslams  or  hymns,  others  in 
the  room  continued  their  conversa- 
tion or  their  work,  paying  no  more  re- 
gard to  the  sacred  music  than  to  "a 
common  song  for  amusement  and  di- 
version." This  was  before  William 
Billings  produced  the  "Psalm  Singer's 
Amusement."  The  New  England 
fathers  of  this  earlier  period  would 
have  raised  their  hands  in  vigorous 
protest  against  the  irreverence  of  con- 
necting amusement  with  psalmody 
even  in  the  title  of  a  book  that  ven- 
tured to  go  to  church  to  assist  in  the 
solemnities  of  singing.  The  singing 
in  the  streets  received  more  serious 
criticism.     The  practice  was  putting 


^Cicygtgsgag'g'g* 


-~ 


***g»CTh^CS«j>gj»fi»» 


THE 


NorthamptonColle&ion/SACRED  HARMONY 

Im    r   &    R    E    E       PARTS. 

C  O  NT  AIMING, 

I.  A  Pun  and  Coxcist   INTRODUCTION  to  the  Ghoukoi  of  MUSIC. 

II.  A  Urge  Number  of  PSALM  TUNES,  idecud  from  ihe  mofi  approved  and  eminent  Authors.  Adapted  to  all  the  different 
MlTfcf-j  and  Ken  ufed  in  Churches. 

ill  A  Number  of  LENGTHY  PIECES  of  jrvEeat  vcmtl  each,  many  of  which  arc  compositions  wive  <  ac  1  o«  t  p-* 
ttSMto,  and  calculated  for  the  use  of  Churches  and  other  occasions  ; — with  »  Number  of  univerfally  approver!  AN 
THLMS. 

by  ELIAS    MAN  N. 

And  tver  againft  citing  cwet, 

Lif  IBt  in  '."■■'(  I.  ,  1i;n  1  in  ; 

In  n  .rc>  ■  itt   <r.ir\y  3  wintiuig  bout 

Of  iinktJ  (weft,  en  ling  ri.-.v 

With  "  ■  i  ,-, 

mutt  runnioi;  j 


Publtjhed  According  to  A8  of  Congrefs . 


P«  i  »r  r.  o,  Typographeatfy,  at   NORTHAMPTON, 

by     DANIEL     WRIGHT    fi?    CO. 


SOLD  by  ih«ni  ..,  Mo*tm*« 


f  ;    by  (Kt  pi.iic.pal  Bof* feller*  in  Boston  j  »n<J  bf  Natmah 


t^3l00¥3C* 


14 


OLDEN   TIME  MUSIC. 


SfliSSaOA  @&©!&&c 


REVISED  EDITION. 


new  wine  irfto  the  old  bottles  of  New 
England  church  customs ;  and  some 
believed  it  should  not  be  done. 

Mr.  Edwards  found  no  valid  objec- 
tion to  the  innovation,  but  advised 
care  in  its  introduction.  "I  suppose," 
he  argued,  "none  will  condemn  sing- 
ing merely  because  it  is  performed  in 
the  open  air ;  and  if  it  may  be  per- 
formed by  a  company  in  the  open  air, 
doubtless  they  may  do  it  moving  as 
well  as  standing  still."  In  this,  as  in 
other  matters  pertaining  to  psalmody, 


Air.  Edwards  was  both  prudent  and 
progressive.  He  thought  it  requisite, 
however,  where  the  introduction  of 
this  practice  was  desired,  to  gain  "the 
consent  of  the  governing  part  of  the 
worshipping  societies."  The  custom 
had  possibilities  of  strife ;  its  intro- 
duction might  disturb  "the  peace  and 
union  of  such  societies."  The  cau- 
tious handling  of  this  subject  by  this 
eminent  divine  shows  how  reverently 
the  fathers  regarded  sacred  music  and 
how  strong  were  their  convictions 
concerning  its  proper  exercise. 

In  his  "Faithful  Narrative,"  Mr. 
Edwards  bears  testimony  to  the  skill 
of  his  congregation  in  singing.  "Our 
congregation  excelled  all  that  ever  I 
knew  in  the  external  part  of  the  duty 
before,  the  men  generally  carrying 
regularly,  and  well,  three  parts  of 
music,  and  the  women  a  part  by 
themselves ;  but  now  they  were  evi- 
dently wont  to  sing  with  unusual  ele- 
vation of  heart  and  voice,  which  made 
the  duty  pleasant  indeed."  Two  of 
the  three  parts  which  the  men  sang 
were  the  bass  and  the  air ;  the  third 
was  probably  the  tenor,  though  some 
men  may  have  coquetted  with  the 
counter,  a  part  which  generally  was 
taken  by  the  women. 

Jonathan    Edwards    took    an    ad- 


ENGLISH    EXTRACTS, 


O  R 


Hampjhire  Mufical  Magazine. 

No.  I. 

Containinc—  Three  ANTHEMS,  and  several  HYMN  and  PSALM  Tunes,  suited  to  all  different  occa- 
sions, where  singing  is  required,  of  the  plain  worshiping  tunes. — Extracted  principally  from  the  Magda- 
len Chapel  Collection  of  Hymns,  where  the  most  pious  and  eminent  professors  of  Divinity  and  Music 
were  employed,  and  lent  their  peculiar  aid  in  that  Religious  Institution. 

Numbers  to  contain  32  pages,  and  sold  for  25  cents  each — at  Northampton. 

fZ5*  If  the  firs;  number  should  meet  with  encouragement,  another  number  of  different  tunes  will  be  offered  next  season. 


PmUt  COD,from  nho. 


J.  HUNTINGTON,  Compiltr. 


PRLNTED  JIT NORTHAMPTON—  FOR  THE  COMPILER.- 


OLDEN   TIME  MUSIC. 


15 


■  I 


H^**MHHH^-)Ni  *•#-** 


DEERFIELD  COLLECTION 


Of 


SACRED    MUSIC. 


tfOMPlUD  fRO.V  THE  MOST  APPROVED  AUTHOR**   OF   ANCIENT   AND   MODERN      %' 


TIMES. 


INTED  IOR  3.  &  I.  BUTLER CnuiniCUt,  PiMtri. 

1> 


*-iMHkw>*-&-  $•*-*•  ^MkMMhjs-^*-:*  fr**^^-*-*-*  ^5HHNH^*4-*-*-*-iHHt!+#*: 


^H —  |  >■  it  ca 


vanced  position  in  relation  to  the  in- 
troduction of  hymns  in  religious  ser- 
vices. Psalms  were  sung-  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  eighteenth  century. 
Critics  of  the  "Great  Awakening" 
were  disturbed  at  two  innovations,  the 
unusual  use  of  singing  in  religious 
services  and  the  introduction  of 
"hymns  of  human  composure." 
Hitherto  in  New  England  the 
churches  had  held  that  the  only  di- 
vinely authorized  manual  of  praise 
was  the  inspired  Psalter.  They  used 
English  versions  of  the  Psalms  of 
David.  Great  was  the  contest  be- 
tween the  Psalm  books  and  hymn 
books.  It  was  like  the  famous  battle 
which  Dean  Swift  reported  between 
the  ancient  and  modern  books  in 
Saint  James's  Library.  In  this  con- 
flict the  Psalms  were  the  "ancients," 
intrenched  in  the  customs,  beliefs  and 
prejudices  of  a  century  of  New  Eng- 
land church  life.  Many  sharp  skir- 
mishes and  some  pitched  battles  were 
fought  before  the  "ancients"  acknowl- 
edged the  right  of  the  "moderns"  to 
a  part  in  public  worship  and  Psalms 
and  hymns  agreed  to  dwell  together 
in  harmony  between  the  same  leath- 
ern covers. 

Mr.  Edwards  took  the  part  of  the 
"moderns"  in  this  conflict.  In  his 
"Thoughts  on  the  Revival"  he  wrote: 
"I  am  far  from  thinking  that  the  book 
of  Psalms  should  be  thrown  bv  in  our 


public  worship,  but  that  it  should  al- 
ways be  used  in  the  Christian  church 
to  the  end  of  the  world ;  but  I  know  of 
no  obligation  we  are  under  to  confine 
ourselves  to  it."  He  considered  that 
it  is  "really  needful  that  we  should 
have  some  other  songs  than  the 
Psalms  of  David."  He  discovered  no 
command  to  limit  Christians  m  their 
praises  to  the  forms  of  words  found 
in  the  Bible,  and  considered  it  unrea- 
sonable that  the  church  should  be 
confined  to  words  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, which  speaks  "of  the  glorious 
things  of  the  Gospel  that  are  infinitely 
the  greatest  subjects  of  her  praise," 
only  under  "a  vail,"  and  mentions  the 
Redeemer's  name  only  "in  some  dark 
figure." 

In  Mrs.  Edwards's  personal  rela- 
tion we  have  illustration  of  the  use  of 
hymns  at  this  period ;  and  the  men- 
tion of  names  shows  that  other  clergy- 
men besides  her  distinguished  hus- 
band appreciated  their  value.  On  one 
occasion,  when  people  had  gathered 
at  the  parsonage,  she  states  that  "a 
melting  hymn"  of  Dr.  Watts  was 
read.  The  "truth  and  reality"  of  the 
things  mentioned  in  it  so  strongly  im- 
pressed her  and  stirred  her  religious 
emotions  so  deeply,  that  she  leaped 
from  her  chair  unconsciously.  Two 
other  hymns  were  read,  whose  influ- 
ence continued  the  ecstatic  condition 
of  the  good  woman.     Watts's  hymns 


16 


OLDEN   TIME  MUSIC. 


China.     C   M. 


ii|illi||giplrii|i|si||gi|^ 


j*^v->*.-;rry- 


"powerfully  affected"  her  at  other 
times.  Thus  we  perceive  that  at  the 
period  of  the  "Great  Awakening" 
ministers  in  the  Valley  used  hymns  to 
excite  and  deepen  religious  emotions, 
and  that  Christian  people,  as  many 
times  since?  were  expressing  their  reli- 
gious experiences  in  terms  of  Watts's 
hymns. 

The  churches  of  the  Valley  owe  a 
large  debt  to  the  Northampton  pastor 
for  the  enrichment  of  their  plain  order 
of  service  by  the  use  of  hymns.  How 
long  the  controversy  over  the  intro- 
duction of  hymns  lasted,  we  cannot 
determine.  There  were  straggling 
skirmishes  in  the  Valley  churches  after 
the  crisis  of  the  battle.  Dr.  Joseph 
Lathrop,  pastor  of  the  First  Church 
of  West  Springfield  (1756-1820), 
argued  in  his  day  in  favor  of  hymns. 
He  used  nearly  the  same  arguments 
that  Edwards  employed.  "In  this 
Gospel  age  our  psalmody  ought  not 
to  be  confined  to  the  small  portion  of 
Scripture  which  is  called  'the  book  of 
psalms.'  If  in  the  days  of  David  it 
was  thought  necessary  that  on  ex- 
traordinary occasions  a  new  song 
should  be  sung,  surely  now  we  may 
s:ng  some  new  songs  on  the  glorious 
occasion  of  the  Gospel."  Dr.  Lathrop's 
pastorate  did  not  begin  till  after  the 
great  revivalist  had  moved  from  the 
Valley,  and  their  publications  are 
more  than  a  half  century  apart. 

The  period  of  the  "Awakening" 
marks  also  the  beginning  of  the  rule 
of  Isaac  Watts  over  the  realm  of  the 
singing     seats     and     pews.     Edward 


Chapin,  a  member  of  the  First  Church 
of  Springfield,  wrote  in  his  diary  un- 
der date  of  August  6,  1747:  "This  day 
ye  inhabitants  of  ye  1st  Parish  assem- 
bled in  ye  New  Meeting-House,  the 
Revd  Mr  Breck  discoursed  on  ye 
first  v  of  ye  84  Ps.  Sang  ye  same 
psalm  in  ye  fore'n  Dr  Watts  Ver- 
sion." A  book  of  Watts's  hymns  was 
owned  by  another  member  of  that 
parish.  It  was  printed  and  bought 
the  same  year,  1742,  and  is  one  of  the 
earliest  American  reprints.  When 
Watts  came,  he  came  as  unto  his  own. 
Nowhere  has  he  been  revered  more 
than  in  the  New  England  churches ; 


.in     .  and  ji.\ .  anil    . . 
Liis  high  commauds  obej . 

HYMN  46....Dunstan.     Truro. 

Invitations  of  tht  Gospel.     Matth    11.28 

a.  1  HARK!  tis  a  kind — alluring  sound ; 
'Tis  Jesus'  welcome  voice  1  hear : 
In  him  the  God  of  mercy  calls  ; 
Let  all  the  tribes  of  men  give  ear. 

i.  2  "  Come  unto  me---yc  sons  of  toil ; 

"  On  me  your  heavy  burdens  cast: 
m.  •'  Effectual  aid — my  arm  shall  give, 

"  Till  all  your  weary  days  are  past." 

t.  3  "  Children  of  so rrow— hither  come, 
"  Who  pass  the  lonely  night  in  tears  : 

m.  "  My  watchfnl  eye  shall  guard  you  well, 
"  And  solace  all  your  woes  and  fears." 

t.  4  "  Hither  ye  sons  of  want — approach, 
'•  Ye  hungry — thirsty — naked  poor; 

c.  "  For  you  a  rich  repast  is  spread, 
"  And  every  kind  relief  is  sure  " 

<.  5  "  Sinners,  with  contrite  spirits,  come; 
"  Forsak"  your  wandering  ways-and  live 
"  Your  keen  remorse — my  grace  shall  sooth 
a-  "My  hands  immortal  blessings  give  " 


OLDEN   TIME  MUSIC. 


17 


and  the  churches  of  the  Valley  early 
welcomed  him.  His  Psalms  were  un- 
doubtedly used  first.  Some  editions 
had  no  hymns,  others  had .  a  few 
hymns  as  an  appendix.  The  same 
appendix  is  also  found  in  some  edi- 
tions of  Tate  and  Brady's  Psalms. 
Finally  his  Psalms  and  his  three 
books  of  hymns  and  spiritual  songs 
became  inseparable  companions. 
Watts  ruled  over  his  New  England 
subjects  for  long  years.  The  sover- 
eignty of  the  English  king  was  over- 
thrown, but  the  rule  of  the  father  of 
English  hymnology  continued.  He  is 
no  longer  sole  ruler,  but  his  name  is 
still  revered. 

One  hundred  years  ago  Northamp- 
ton was  a  centre  for  the  publication  of 
music  books.  An  edition  of  Watts's 
Psalms  and  Hymns  was  printed  there 
by  William  Butler  in  1799.  An  im- 
portant appendix  to  this  book  con- 
tains versifications  of  these  Psalms 
which  Dr.  Watts  had  not  "imitated 
in  the  language  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment." There  are  thirteen  selections 
from  the  pen  of  "the  ingenius  Mr. 
Joel  Barlow  of  Connecticut,"  as  an 
appendical  sentence  styles  him.  He 
was  moved  to  this  work  by  the  call  of 
the  General  Association  of  Connect- 
icut, and  published  his  corrections 
and  enlargement  of  Watts's  Psalms 
in  1785.  Joel  Barlow  is  an  interest- 
ing figure,  not  only  in  New  England 
psalmody,  but  in  the  life  of  his  time. 
He  was  a  man  of  many  parts  and 
lived  a  varied  life.  He  was  a  chap- 
lain in  the  Continental  army,  an  edi- 
tor, a  lawyer,  a  politician,  a  friend  of 
science,  a  patron  of  inventors,  a  land 
agent,  an  ambassador,  a  citizen  of  two 
republics,  and  in  some  measure  wliat 
he  wanted  to  be — a  poet.  The  Con- 
necticut ministers  paid  a  high  tribute 
to  his  talent  and  his  character  when 
they  trusted  to  his  care  the  sacred 
ark  of  their  psalmody. 

This  Psalm  book  shows  that  the 
increasing  sense  of  national  life  af- 
fected psalmody.  There  was  no  call 
to  revise  Watts  in  colonial  days ;  but 
the    vigorous    Americanism    of    this 


period  called  for  changes  in  those 
Psalms  which  had  been  "locally  ap- 
propriated,"— that  is,  contained  ref- 
erences to  Great  Britain.  "A  Song 
for  Great  Britain"  was  the  title  of  the 
147th    Psalm. 

"O   Britain,   praise  thy  mighty   God, 
And  make  his  honors  known  abroad; 
He  bade  the  ocean  round  thee  flow; 
Not  bars  of  brass  could  guard  thee  so." 

THE. 

NEW   AND    IMPROVED 

CAMP  MEETING 

HYMN  BOOKs 

BEING   A 
CHOICE      SELECTION 

OF 


FROM  THE  MOST  APPROVED  AUTHORS. 

DESIGNED    TO    AID    IN    THE 

PUBLIC    AND    PRIVATE 
DEVOTION  OF  CHRISTIANS. 


BY  ORANGE  SCOTT, 

MINISTER    OF    THE    GOSPEL. 


"  0,  sing  praises  unto  the  Lord." 
SECOND  EDITION. 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  COMPILER. 

E.   AND   G.  MERRIAM,  PRINTERS,   BROOKFIELD. 
1831. 

The  Northampton  editor  omits  the 
offensive  title,  and  this  stanza  is  al- 
tered to  read: 

"Let  Zion  praise  the  mighty  God, 
And  make  his  honors  known  abroad; 
For  sweet  the  joy  our  songs  to  raise. 
And  glorious  is  the  work  of  praise." 

These  changes  do  not  satisfy  the 
editor  of  the  Brookfield  (Mass.) 
Watts,  who  makes  this  "A  Song  for 


i8 


OLDEN   TIME  MUSIC. 


SPRINGFIELD  COLLECTION 


SACRED  MUSIC. 

CONTAINING 

A    VARIETY    OF    PSALM    TUNES    AND    OCCASIONAL   PIECES. 

SELECTED    FROM  THE    WORKS  OF  THE 

MOST    APPROVED    EUROPEAN    AUTHORS. 

TO  WHICH  IS   PREFIXED 

A    CONCISE    SYSTEM    OF    RUDIMENTS. 


BY  SOLOMON  WARRINER. 


iby  Warriner  and  Bontecou,  and  sold  by  them  at  their  Store  in  Springfield."  Sold  also  by  Mankisg  and  Loring.  and  Charles 
Williams,  Boston— by  Warriner  and  Callendzr,  Fittsneld— and  by  the  principal  Booksellers  in  the  United  States 


MANNING   AND    LORING.   PRINTERS,   BOSTON NOV    1813 


America,"  and  in  the  exuberance  of 
his  patriotism  calls: 

"Columbia,  praise  thy  mighty  God." 

There  is  a  curious  misprint  in  this 
book  of  a  word  in  a  stanza  of  the  48th 
Psalm: 

"When  natives  tall  and  proud 
Attempt  to  spoil  our  peace, 
He  sends  his  tempests  roaring  loud, 
And  sinks  them  in  the  seas." 

Though  Watts  must  be  amended  to 
suit  the  patriotic  saints  and  singers 
of  the  new  nation,  there  was  no  occa- 
sion to  change  navies,  the  original 
reading,  to  natives.  The  same  mis- 
take occurs  in  the  Worcester  edition 
(1786),  by  Isaiah  Thomas.  This,  with 
other  coincidences,  suggests  the  de- 
pendence of  Northampton  upon 
Worcester  for  copy.  "Natives"  is 
not  an  alteration  bv  "the  ingenius 
Mr.  Joel  Barlow." 

A  number  of  tune  books  were  pub- 
lished at  the  Meadow  City.  One  is 
the  "Northampton  Collection  of  Sa- 
cred Harmony,"  1797,  by  Elias  Mann. 
An  old  music  book  is  interesting,  if 
not  profitable  for  instruction.  Title- 
page,  preface  and  introduction  are 
features  to  be   scanned.     They  shed 


light  upon  the  musical  lore  and  taste 
and  customs  of  the  times,  as  well  as 
upon  the  idiosyncrasies  of  the  author 
or  compiler.  The  title-page  of  this 
book  is  embellished  according  to  cus- 
tom with  a  poetic  quotation.  The 
t salm  book  used  Scripture,  the  tune 
book  poetry,  on  the  title-page.  Elias 
iv±ann  quotes  from  Milton: 

'And  ever  against  eating  cares, 
Lap  me  in  soft  Lydian  airs; 
In  notes  with  many  a  winding  bout, 
Of  linked  sweetness  long  drawn  out; 
With  wanton  heed  and  giddy  cunning, 
The  melting  voice  through  mazes  running; 
Untwisting  all  the  chains  that  tie 
The  hidden  soul  of  harmony." 

A  dissertation  is  sandwiched  be- 
tween the  preface  and  introduction. 
The  title  is  much  more  impressive 
than  the  subject  matter  of  this  high 
sounding  but  brief  article.  In  it  some 
ideas  concerning  expression  are  set 
forth.  The  author  believed  in  har- 
mony between  "sense  and  sound"  in 
singing.  "Moreover,  not  only  the 
voice  but  the  whole  demeanor  should 
conform  to  the  subject.  The  grave, 
the  gay,  the  melancholy,  the  cheer- 
ful should  be  accompanied  by  their 
correspondent  tones  and  deportment. 
A  choir  under  Mr.  Mann's  leadership 


OLDEN   TIME  MUSIC. 


19 


acting  the  grave  and  the  gay  might 
have  been  worth  seeing,  even  if  it  was 
not  skilful  in 

"Untwisting  all  the  chains  that  tie 
The  hidden  soul  of  harmony." 

This  book  has  the  old  nomencla- 
ture. The  scale  is  the  gamut ;  the 
syllables  are  four,  mi,  fa,  sol,  la;  in 
relation  to  time,  the  notes,  beginning 
with  the  whole  note  and  decreasing 
regularly,  are  semibreves,  minims, 
quavers,  semiquavers  and  demisemi- 
quavers ;  the  staff  is  a  stave.  There 
are  three  staves,  the  counter  being 
the  unusual  one  with  the  letter  C  on 
tne  middle  line.  In  reading  by  syl- 
lable the  mi  was  the  syllable  to  locate. 
\\  nen  it  was  found  the  other  syllables 
came  in  regular  order  above  and  be- 
low it — fa,  sol,  la,  fa,  sol,  la,  mi,  fa. 
Rules  for  finding  mi  in  the  different 
keys  are  given  in  all  old  tune  books, 
usually  in  prose,  but  occasionally  in 
limping  verse.  Its  natural  place  was 
on  B.  The  sharps  and  flats  led  it  a 
wandering  life,  as  these  lines  from 
"The  Continental  Harmony"  show: 

"By  flats  the  mi  is  driven  round 
Till  forced  on  B  to  stand  its  ground. 
By  sharps  the  mi's  led  through  the  keys, 
Till  brought  home  to  its  native  place." 

"It  is  always  considered  as  in  its  na- 
tive place  on  a  pitchpipe,"  said  Wil- 
liam Billings ;  and  there  it  was  undis- 
turbed till  the  leader  "set  the  tune." 
The  music  in  this  book  represents  thi 
taste  of  the  times.  It  contains  speci- 
mens of  the  compositions  of  Ameri- 
can authors  like  Billings,  Holyoke, 
Holden  and  Swan.  Mr.  Mann  also 
inserted  a  number  of  his  own  pieces, 
chiefly  antnems.  Although  Mr.  Mann 
expressed  later  a  distaste  for  the 
fugue,  and  even  at  the  date  of  this 
book  is  reported  to  have  called  it  "a 
jargon  of  words  and  syllables,"  this 
collection  caters  to  the  prevailing 
taste  and  has  numerous  specimens  of 
"jargon."  This  is  a  typographically 
printed  book,  which  fact  shows  the 
enterprise  of  Daniel  Wright  &  Co.  in 
following  the  new  style  introduced  by 


that  enterprising  and  veteran  printer, 
Isaiah  Thomas  of  Worcester. 

Elias  Mann  lived  at  Northampton. 
He  is  referred  to  in  the  "Worshipper's 
Assistant"  as  "a  great  Master  of  Mu- 
sic." He  taught  singing  schools,  and 
was  known  as  Master  Mann.  He 
published  music  and  composed  it. 
"Marlborough's  Ghost"  and  "Andre's 
Ghost"  are  the  titles  of  two  songs  by 
him  advertised  in  the  Massachusetts 
Magazine  in  1789.  Whether  or  not 
he  gave  musical  treatment  to  the 
ghosts  of  other  historic  characters 
does  not  appear.  He  also  published 
the  "Massachusetts  Collection  of  Sa- 
cred Harmony." 

The  "Worshipper's  Assistant" 
(Northampton,  1799)  has  the  rudi- 
ments of  some  new  features.  It  is 
"designed  only  as  an  introduction  to 
plain  and  simple  music  adapted  to 
children  and  beginners  in  the  art.'' 
The  author,  Solomon  Howe,  shows 
signs  of  revolt  against  the  dominance 
of  fugues,  because  they  "run  the 
words  into  such  a  huddle."  The  book, 
of  the  usual  oblong  shape,  is  an  ap- 
proach to  the  tune  and  hymn  book  of 
later  days.  Its  most  noticeable  fea- 
ture is  its  hymns.  They  mark  a  crude 
beginning  in  hymnology  in  the  Val- 
ley. Mr.  Howe  "put  his  own  hymns" 
to  the  tunes  of  the  book.  There  is 
no  special  value  in  these  hymns ;  but 
it  is  worthy  of  note  that,  as  Williams 
and  Tansur  had  their  imitators  in 
the  American  Psalm  tune  writers,  so 
the  monosyllabic  Watts  had  his  imi- 
tators among  American  rhymesters. 
These  old  tune  books  were  designed 
to  serve  in  the  singing  school  as  well 
as  in  the  choir.  Mr.  Howe  gave  this 
direction  for  the  selection  of  a  place 
for  that  important  institution: 
"Choose  a  large,  tight  upper  room, 
if  possible,  where  a  little  fire  will  an- 
swer, for  large  fires  are  hurtful  to  the 
voice." 

Two  of  the  instrumental  adjuncts 
of  the  olden-time  choir,  the  flute  and 
the  bass  viol,  find  recognition  in 
"The  Apollo  Harmony,"  a  Christian 
Psalm    tune  book  that    masquerades 


20 


OLDEN   TIME  MUSIC. 


62 


CANON.     For  three  voices 


Would  to  God      I    had  died        for  thee,  my  son' 

IliigL^IIi=l#Bliii^i 


under 

used 

each 


a 
to 
of 


Ab 


pagan  titfe.  Diagrams  are 
illustrate  the  fingering  of 
these  instruments.  Jona- 
than Huntington,  the  compiler  of  this 
book,  may  have  played  the  flute,  for 
he  seems  to  have  had  a  special  ten- 
derness for  it  and  declared:  "He  that 
hath  no  music  within  his  breast  ought 
never  to  touch  this  instrument." 
This  book  attempts  to  solve  the  di- 
lemma of  divided  taste  in  the  singing 
community.  In  the  first  decade  of 
century  protests  were 
increasing  frequency 
class  of  music  which 
prevailed.  The  public 
was  no  longer  unanimous  in  prefer- 
ence of  the  fugue.  This  compiler 
found  that  some  would  be  pleased 
with  Old  Hundred,  Bath,  Plymouth 
and  Wantage,  while  others  preferred 
"light  and  airy  tunes ;"  so  he  pre- 
sented "a  general  assortment."  There 
are  musical  contrasts.  Bath  and  Do- 
ver, the  stately  measures  of  Handel's 
hymn  tune,  and  the  "light  and  airy" 
ones  of  Swan's  fugue  face  each  other 
from  opposite  pages  and  meet  in  har- 
mony whenever  the  book  is  closed. 
The  divided  taste  in  a  parish  often 
meant  a  divided  choir.     "The  lovers 


the  present 
heard  with 
against  the 
hitherto    had 


Har.  Sac.  of  crotchets  and 
quavers"  and  "the 
votaries  of  minims 
and  semibreves" 
sometimes  carried 
their  differences  of 
taste  to  the  extent 
that  they  would  not 
sing  together. 

It  is  not  always 
easy  to  accept  the 
wisdom  of  these  old 
books  seriously. 
Jonathan  Hunting- 
ton thus  expounds 
accent:  "A  bar  of 
music  may  be  per- 
formed in  compari- 
son to  the  shape  of 
an  egg,  full  in  the 
middle  and  small  at 
each  end."  His  safe 
conclusion  on  an- 
other point  is  "to  pronounce  words  in 
singing  as  plain  as  possible." 

Some  former  owner  of  the  writer's 
copy  of  "The  Apollo  Harmony"  also 
possessed  two  numbers  of  "The  Eng- 
lish Extracts,  or  Hampshire  Musical 
Magazine,"  and  bound  them  with  it. 
The  magazine  consists  of  a  few  pages 
of  music  taken  largely  from  the  "Mag- 
dalen Chapel  Collection  of  Hymns." 
Jonathan  Huntington  did  the  extract- 
ing. The  magazine  is  of  a  later  date 
(1809)  than  "The  Apollo  Harmony" 
(1807),  and  shows  that  the  tide  of 
preference  was  setting  in  so  strongly 
in  favor  of  better  music  that  Mr. 
Huntington  must  needs  publish  a  less 
"general  assortment"  of  tunes. 

It  is  only  due  to  the  patriotism  of 
Northampton  to  note  the  existence  of 
an  "American  Musical  Magazine," 
published  there  for  the  Hampshire 
Musical  Society  in  1800.  When,  how- 
ever, a  higher  standard  of  music  was 
required,  resort  was  had  of  necessity 
to  the  Old  World.  This  is  not  to  the 
discredit  wholly  of  the  New  World. 
The  early  American  teachers  had  lim- 
ited resources.  They  came  hardly  at 
all  into  contact  with  the  best  music  of 
the  Old  World,  but  in  half  a  centurv 


OLDEN   TIME  MUSIC. 


21 


from  the  publication  of  the  first 
American  books  of  original  music 
they  led  the  singing  public  to  de- 
mand music  of  a  higher  standard, 
which  only  the  Old  World  could  give. 
It  is  easier  to  criticise  the  crudities  of 
these  earlier  composers  and  teachers 
than  to  appreciate  the  importance  of 
their  pioneer  work. 

A  book  of  original  music  belonging 
to  the  Valley  is  "The  New  England 
Harmony,"  by  Timothy  Swan.  It 
was  published  at  Northampton  in 
1801.  A  peculiarity  of  the  author  is 
his  disuse  of  the  accidentals.  Sharps 
and  flats  he  regarded  as  useless  char- 
acters in  vocal  music.  He  inserted 
them  in  this  book  as  key  signs  to  ac- 
commodate the  weaker  brethren,  but 
did  not  use  them  elsewhere. 

The  early  composers  of  the  Valley 
are  not  always  known  to  fame.  It  is 
rare  to  find  mention  of  them  in  the 
old  histories  of  music,  like  Hood's 
and  Gould's.  Both  Gould  and  Rit- 
ter  mention  Timothy  Swan,  but  their 
notices  are  brief,  confused  and  unre- 
liable. Timothy  Swan  was  born  at 
Worcester,  Massachusetts ,  July  23, 
1758.  At  the  age  of  sixteen,  while 
at  Groton,  Massachusetts,  he  at- 
tended a  singing  school  for  three 
weeks.  This  brief  period  comprised 
his  only  term  of  instruction.  He 
came  to  Northfield,  Massachusetts, 
about  1775.  The  early  composers  of 
music  and  teachers  of  singing  in  New 
England  generally  had  a  trade.  Mu- 
sic was  not  a  sure  means  of  livelihood. 
Timothy  Swan  learned  to  make  hats 
at  Northfield,  and  while  so  doing  be- 
gan to  practise  the  making  of  Psalm 
tunes.  His  first  music  was  written  in 
two  parts.  Montague  was  his  first 
tune  in  four  parts.  He  moved  in 
1782  to  Suffield,  Connecticut,  where 
he  lived  over  twenty-five  years  and 
composed  most  of  his  music.  "The 
Songster's  Assistant,"  a  book  of 
songs,  the  music  of  which  is  mostly 
by  him,  was  published  there  by  the 
firm  of  Swan  and  Ely.  The  man 
whose  singing  school  career  as  a  pu- 
pil ended  in  three  weeks  gave  many 


others  longer  periods  of  instruction  in 
the  many  singing  schools  he  taught. 
The  migrations  of  Timothy  Swan 
have  helped  to  confuse  the  brief  no- 
tices of  him  which  some  have  made. 
His  last  years  were  passed  at  North- 
field,  where  he  died,  July  23,  1842. 
He  is  remembered  as  the  author  of 
China,  the  most  famous  of  his 
tunes.  Those  who  recall  its  weird 
strains  will  appreciate  the  remark  of 
an  old  singing  teacher:  "His  tunes 
were  remarkable  for  originality  as 
well  as  singularity — unlike  any  other 
melodies."     The  hymn, 

"Why  do  we  mourn  departing  saints," 

is  joined  to  this  tune.  The  compiler 
of  "The  American  Vocalist"  (1849) 
wrote:  "Old  Windham  and  China 
have  acted  as  pallbearers  for  half  a 
century."  To-day  saints  and  sinners 
are  buried  to  other  music,  and  the 
memory  of  China  and  its  author  is 
fading. 

The  old  music  book  of  Springfield 
is  the  "Springfield  Collection,"  by 
Solomon  Warriner.  It  was  published 
in  1813,  and  was  designed  to  furnish 
choirs  and  worshipping  assemblies 
with  "standard  church  music  of  the 
plainest  kind."  If  Springfield  seems 
less  forward  in  producing  musical 
publications  than  her  sisters  of  the 
Valley,  she  can  plead  the  higher  qual- 
ity of  her  collection.  A  glance  at  its 
pages  shows  the  predominance  of 
notes  with  white  faces.  The  faces  of 
the  notes  of  these  old  books  reveal, 
like  the  faces  of  men,  much  of  their 
character.  The  "Massachusetts  Col- 
lection of  Church  Music,"  Greenfield, 
1823,  defines  a  semibreve  as  "a  round 
white  note."  "The  minim  is  a  white 
note  with  a  stem ;  the  crotchet  is  a 
black  note  with  a  stem ;  and  the 
quaver  is  a  black  note  with  a  stem 
and  a  hook."  The  music  of  Ameri- 
can composers  showed  many  "black 
notes"  with  stems  and  hooks.  In  the 
ancient  and  more  regular  music  the 
"white  notes"  were  in  the  majority. 
The  Springfield  and  later  the  Deer- 
field  collections  made  selections  from 


22 


OLDEN  TIME  MUSIC. 


Wamril  Seal*— Mi  i 


EXPLANATION  OF  THE  SCALES. 


ppi^^llii 


Key    Faw,         sol,  law,         faw,  sol, 


J^F 


pHpE^Eg^^^l 


PLAIN  SCALE  of  NATURAL  NOTES  for  the  GERMAN  FLUTE. 
The  black  dots  reprefent  the  holes  which  are  to  be  flopped,  and  the  vacancies   are  to   be   led  open.     The   three  upper 
fingers,  reprefent  the  firfl,  fecond  and  third  fingers  of  the  upper  hand,  and  the  four  lower  fingers  reprefent   the  firft,  fecond, 
third  and  fourth  fingers  of  the  lower  hand. 


UftHjnd       D             E 

if 

F 

1 

G 

0 

1 

A 

0 

B 

i 

c 

0 

i 

D 

o 

1 

J — 

E 

1 

F 
• 

§ 

a 

0 

A 

II 

B            C 
*         0 

1 

D 
O 

E 

3                  "       10 

0 

0 

O 

0 

« 

# 

# 

0 

0 

0 

o 

0 

Bight  Hand            | 

0 

0 
0 

# 

o 

0 
0 

o 

0 
0 

o 

0 
0 

o 

0 

o 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 
0 

o 

0 

o 

0 

o 
o 
o 
o 

0 
0 
0 

0 
0 

0 

o 
o 

0 

o 

0 

0 

0 

3                ' 

"the  most  approved  authors."  This 
superlative  term  of  commendation 
was  applied  with  little  discrimination 
to  all  the  products  of  European  com- 
posers which  came  into  the  hands  of 
American  compilers,  and,  like  the 
present  '"made  in  Germany,"  the  label 
was  upon  many  inferior  articles. 

This  book  knows  only  the  four  old 
syllables,  fa,  sol,  la,  mi;  but  it  discards 
the  old  counter  clef,  lowers  the  coun- 
ter score,  calls  it  the  second  treble, 
and  gives  the  part  to  alto  voices. 
Mr.  Warriner  insisted  that  the  air 
should  be  sung  by  women,  and 
adopted  the  present  arrangement  of 
parts.  This  made  a  very  important 
improvement  in  the  manner  of  sing- 
ing, one  of  the  most  valuable  that 
could  be  advocated  at  that  time.  Our 
singers  go  to  Father  Kemp's  book 
for  music  for  the  old  folks'  concert 


and  sing  the  old  tunes  as  there  ar- 
ranged, which  is  the  modern,  not  the 
old  arrangement  of  parts.  The  honor 
in  this  country  of  first  giving  the  air 
to  treble  voices  has  been  claimed  for 
Solomon  Warriner  and  the  "Spring- 
field Collection."  An  earlier  advocate 
of  the  change  was  Andrew  Law,  the 
inventor  of  "patent  notes,"  as  may  be 
seen  by  reference  to  his  music  books. 
This  collection  was  well  received. 
Thomas  Hastings  expressed  the  opin- 
ion that  its  melodies  would  "continue 
in  favor  for  many  years,  perhaps  for 
centuries  to  come."  The  individual 
future  of  this  daughter  of  psalmody 
was  marred  by  an  early  marriage. 
The  "Musica  Sacra,"  jointly  edited 
by  Thomas  Hastings  and  Solomon 
Warriner,  is  the  Utica  and  Springfield 
collections  united.  This  book  was  a 
successful  one.    In  its  earlier  editions 


OLDEN  TIME  MUSIC. 


23 


appears  a  single  survivor  of  a  species 
of  church  music  now  extinct, — the 
canon,  as  it  was  commonly  called.  A 
footnote  explains  that  it  should 
be  "more  properly  denominated  a 
round."  David's  lament,  "O,  Absa- 
lom, my  son,  my  son,"  becomes  more 
doleful  as  it  is  wailed  out  in  the  minor 
tones  of  this  sacred  round.  A  queer 
specimen  of  this  class  of  music  to  find 
a  place  in  a  Psalm  tune  book  is  "Scot- 
land's Burning."  It  appears  in  an- 
other Northampton  book,  "The  Mas- 
sachusetts Compiler  of  Sacred  Har- 
mony." The  harmony  may  be  in  this 
canon,  but  the  sacredness  is  surely 
wanting. 

Solomon  Warriner  is  a  conspicuous 
figure  in  the  history  of  music  in  West- 
ern Massachusetts.  He  was  born  at 
Wilbraham,  Massachusetts,  in  1778, 
and  died  at  Springfield,  where  most  of 
the  years  of  his  long  life  were  passed, 
in  June,  i860.  He  was  known  as 
Colonel  Warriner,  for  he  drilled  mili- 
tiamen as  well  as  choirs.  For  more 
than  forty  years  he  was  the  leader  of 
the  large  choir  of  the  First  Church, 
Springfield.  He  was  president  of  its 
musical  society  and  head  of  the  mu- 
sical life  of  Springfield.  On  all  pub- 
lic occasions  when  music  graced  the 
program,  Colonel  Warriner  was  in 
demand,  with  his  trained  singers.  As 
teacher,  leader  and  publisher,  he  had 
a  wide  influence.  He  also  composed 
music.  Two  pieces  ascribed  to  S. 
Warriner  appear  in  "The  Apollo  Har- 
mony." Gould  mentions  him  as  one 
of  those  "who  taught  with  success 
and  deserve  and  will  have  a  place  in 
the  memory  of  the  lovers  of  sacred 
music."  An  editorial  notice  at  the 
time  of  his  death  says:  "Colonel  War- 
riner was  the  great  authority  and 
standard  in  all  musical  matters  in  all 
this  region  and  did  more  than  any 
other  to  elevate  the  style  of  sa- 
cred music  in  Western  Massachu- 
setts." 

The  Valley  can  point  to  several  col- 
lections of  hymns.  The  "Springfield 
Hymns"  bring  together  two  well- 
known    names,    Rev.  William  B.  O. 


Peabody,  D.  D.,  their  compiler,  and 
Samuel  Bowles,  their  publisher.  Dr. 
Peabody  was  the  pastor  of  the  Uni- 
tarian Church  of  Springfield  from 
October,  1820,  until  his  death,  in 
May,  1847.  This  collection  was  pro- 
duced to  meet  "the  wants  and  feel- 
ings" of  his  own  congregation.  The 
selections  are  drawn  from  a  wide  field, 
though  the  hymns  of  Watts  and  Dod- 
dridge form  the  basis  of  the  collec- 
tion. This  is  an  edited  collection. 
The  editor's  object  was  to  provide, 
"not  a  book  of  devotional  poetry  to 
be  read,  but  hymns  to  be  sung;"  so 
he  abridged  and  altered  hymns  to  suit 
his  purpose,  and  in  some  instances  re- 
stored hymns  to  their  original  forms. 
Dr.  Peabody  followed  the  example 
of  Watts,  who  wrote  "Divine  and 
Moral  Songs"  for  children,  and  of 
Doddridge,  who  taught  the  principles 
of  religion  to  children  in  "Plain  and 
Easv  Verse,"  by  producing  a  cate- 
chism in  verse  for  children.  The  first 
of  the  fourteen  questions  is,  "Who 
made  you?"  and  the  brief  answer  is: 

"The  God  in  whom  I  ever  trust 
Hath  made  my  body  from  the  dust; 
He  gave  me  life,  he  gave  me  breath, 
And  he  preserves  me  still  from  death." 

This  catechism  was  published  in 
1823.  It  is  not  forgotten  because  it 
is  in  verse,  but  because  catechisms  in 
general  are  being  forgotten.  A  num- 
ber of  hymns  follow  the  catechetical 
portion  of  this  little  book,  some  of 
which  appear  in  the  "Springfield 
Hymns ;"  but  the  name  of  the  author 
is  modestly  withheld.  As  a  writer  of 
hymns  Dr.  Peabody  receives  gener- 
ous recognition  in  "Singers  and 
Songs  of  the  Liberal  Faith"  and  in 
various  hymnals.  The  following  is 
his  best  known  hymn: 

"Behold  the  western  evening  light! 
It  melts  in  deeper  gloom; 
So  calm  the  righteous  sink  away, 
Descending  to  the  tomb. 

"The  winds  breathe  low — the  yellow  leaf 
Scarce  whispers  from  the  tree! 
So  gently  flows  the  parting  breath 
When  good  men  cease  to  be. 


H 


OLDEN   TIME  MUSIC. 


"How  beautiful,  on  all  the  hills, 

The  crimson  light  is  shed! 
'Tis  like  the  peace  the  dying  gives 

To   mourners   round   his   bed. 

"How  mildly  on  the  wandering  cloud 

The  sunset  beam  is  cast! 
So  sweet  the  memory  left  behind. 
When  loved  ones  breathe  their  last. 

"And  lo!  above  the  dews  of  night 
The  vesper  star  appears! 
So  faith  lights  up  the  mourner's  heart, 
Whose  eyes  are  dim  with  tears. 

"Night  falls,  but  soon  the  morning  light 

Its  glories  shall  restore; 
And  thus  the  eyes  that  sleep  in  death 
Shall  wake,  to  close  no  more." 

Samuel  Willard,  D.  D.,  was  an- 
other minister  interested  in  church 
music.  From  1807  to  1829  he  was 
pastor  of  the  First  Church  of  Deer- 
field.  Dr.  Willard  sought  the  im- 
provement of  church  music  chiefly 
along'  three  lines,  simplicity  in  the 
style  of  music,  pronunciation  and 
adaptation  of  hymn  and  tune.  In  a 
lecture  delivered  at  Greenfield,  March 
19,  181 T,  he  affirmed  that  for  about 
thirty  years  there  had  rarely  been 
such  a  thing  heard  in  a  great  part  of 
the  churches  as  a  tune  of  "the  an- 
cient, regular,  simple,  moderate 
style."  He  found  in  the  Deerfield 
church  "the  same  profane  kind  of 
singing  that  prevails  everywhere  in 
the  country,"  and  immediately  inau- 
gurated a  reform.  Soon  he  could 
write:  "A  thorough  change  took 
place  this  day  in  the  musical  part  of 
public  worship.  Instead  of  all  light 
and  frolicsome  tunes,  we  had  all  grave 
and  solemn,  namely,  Aylesbury, 
Windsor,  Dalston,  Wells  and  Old 
Hundred."  The  "Deerfield  Collection" 
(1814),  which  he  compiled,  represents 
the  reaction  to  a  more  simple  style  of 
music:  This  was  a  book  for  the  "Old 
Hundred  Singers,"  for  the  title  of  this 
ancient  tune  furnished  a  term  of  re- 
proach by  which  the  lovers  of  the 
"frolicsome  tunes"  designated  the 
lovers  of  the  "grave  and  solemn 
tunes."  Dr.  Willard,  like  other  min- 
isters interested  in  the  improvement 


of  singing,  preached  from  the  text, 
"I  will  sing  with  the  spirit,  and  I  will 
sing  with  the  understanding  also." 
His  rule  in  singing  was  to  pronounce 
according  to  the  best  usages  of  com- 
mon speech.  Accordingly  it  was  al- 
lowable to  sing  11m  for  am,  nn  for  an, 
and  urgain  for  again.  "That  is  the 
way  we  speak,  and  if  we  would  not 
appear  awkward  or  affected,  we  must 
sing  in  the  same  manner."  The  rule 
for  pronunciation  on  slurred  notes  is 
emphatic.  "Never  without  necessity  re- 
peat the  same  sound."  He  gives  ex- 
amples of  the  different  sounds  into 
which  the  vowels  and  diphthongs 
might  be  resolved  and  the  necessity 
of  repetition  be  avoided.  Thus  hate 
might  be  sung  on  slurs  as  heh-ete, 
pine  as  pur-ene,  true  as  tre-oo,  voice 
as  vaw-ece,  and  found  as  faw-oond. 
In  deference  to  the  flocks  on  the 
Deerfield  hills,  or  for  some  other  rea- 
son, the  caution  is  given  to  avoid  "the 
bleating  sound  of  a  and  00  (faa-oond), 
as  it  is  too  frequently  pronounced." 
Singers  were  taught  to  pronounce  the 
vowel  sound  at  once  in  syllables  end- 
ing in  a  consonant  and  dwell  upon  the 
consonant  sound  to  fill  out  the  time 
of  the  note;  but  if  the  consonant 
could  not  be  sounded  by  itself  they 
were  directed  to  reduce  the  time  to  the 
natural  length  of  the  vowel  rather 
than  "drawl  out  the  vowel  to  the  full 
measure  of  the  note."  Dr.  Willard 
delivered  a  lecture  at  Heath  to  a  sing- 
ing school.  He  complimented  the 
singers  on  their  good  work  in  several 
particulars,  but  hoped  they  would 
"cultivate  with  persevering  attention 
a  clear,  forcible  and  pathetic  pronun- 
ciation." This  good  minister  pre- 
ferred the  tunes  which  have  "a  pen- 
sive air."  He  objected  to  fugues, 
because  "their  apparent  contri- 
vance is  extremely  unfavorable  to 
pathos." 

The  most  distinctive  feature  of  Dr. 
Willard's  labors  to  improve  psalmody 
appears  in  his  two  works,  "Regular 
Hymns"  (1824)  and  "Poetry  and 
Music  Reconciled"  (1830).  The  first 
book  consists  of  original  hvmns  com- 


OLDEN   TIME  MUSIC. 


25 


posed  by  Dr.  Willard  to  illustrate  the 
harmony  that  he  considered  should 
invariably  exist  between  the  poetic 
and  musical  emphasis.  The  real  dif- 
ficulty was  that  tune  and  hymn  were 
poorly  mated.    Milton's 

"Sphere-born    harmonious    sisters,    Voice 
and  Verse,"' 

were  discordant.  The  good  doctor 
discovered  perpetual  contradictions 
between  "sound  and  sense."  The 
natural  emphasis  of  music  and  of 
words  did  not  coincide.  He  believed 
that  music  should  "render  emphatical 
words  that  were  emphatical."  It  dis- 
pleased him  that  the  name  of  God,  or 
heaven,  or  hell,  was  sometimes  re- 
duced in  the  musical  performance  to 
the  lowest  degree  of  insignificance, 
while  an  a,  an  is,  a  to,  an  and,  or  some 
"other  insert  word,"  is  swelled  into 
"bombastic  and  stupid  importance." 
He  believed  that  "the  emphatic 
points  of  a  hymn  should  be  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  render  it  possible  for  the 
musical  emphasis  to  act  in  union 
with  them."  In  the  first  book  he 
composed  hymns  according  to  this 
belief;  in  the  second  he  "arranged" 
the  hymns  of  other  authors  to  con- 
form to  his  unique  theory,  and  made 
them  like  his  own  "regular."  The 
following  is  one  of  the  "arranged" 
hymns,  taken  from  "Poetry  and  Mu- 
sic  Reconciled:" 

1  "Guide  us,  O  thou  great  Jehovah, 
t     Pilgrims  through   this   barren  land; 
We  are  weak,  but  thou  are  mighty; 
m     All  our  hopes  on  thee  depend; 

Bread   from   heaven   grant  us,   till   we 
want  no  more. 

t  2  "Open,   Lord,  the  crystal  fountain. 
Whence  reviving  waters  flow; 
g     Let  the  fiery,  cloudy  pillar 
m    Lead  us  all  our  journey   through. 
Strong    deliverer,    still    be    thou    our 
strength  and  shield. 

3  "When  we  tread  the  verge  of  Jordan, 
t     Bid  our  anxious  fears  subside; 
g    Thou,  whose  arm  is  our  salvation, 
S     Land  us  safe  on  Canaan's  side. 
a     Songs  of  praises  we  will  ever  give  to 
thee." 


A   hymn   composed  by  Dr.    Willard. 

AGAINST     UNREASONABLE     FEARS. 

"Cease  my  heart  to  dread  the  morrow; 
Hush  thine  anxious  cares  to  rest; 
Let  no  unavailing  sorrow 
Ever  throb  within  thy  breast. 

"All  that  loving  care  confessing, 

Whence  thy  present  comforts  flow, 
Humbly  wait  each  future  blessing; 
Leave  with  Him  each  future  woe. 

"Under  his  all-wise  direction, 
Guard  against  impending  harm; 
Still  with  his  divine  protection, 
Cease  from  every  vain  alarm." 

The  first  hymn  shows  some  of  the 
marks  of  musical  expression  that  Dr. 
Willard  employed  in  his  books  to  as- 
sist the  singers.  These  signs  above 
words,  between  words,  before  lines 
and  in  the  middle  of  lines  sometimes 
gave  a  hymn  a  resemblance  to  an  al- 
gebraic equation. 

These  books  received  favorable 
mention  in  the  review  columns  of  re- 
ligious denominations.  They  evi- 
dently indicated  a  defect.  The  point 
at  issue  was  the  better  adaptation  of 
tune  and  hymn.  In  the  old  choirs, 
with  their  book  of  tunes  and  their 
book  of  hymns,  this  was  the  work  of 
the  leader,  whose  resources  and  taste 
were  not  equal  to  a  task  so  delicate 
and  important.  Dr.  Willard's  reme- 
dy for  the  defect  was  to  fit  the  words 
to  the  model  of  the  tune.  The  reme- 
dy was  too  mechanical. 

The  author  of  these  books  was  a 
man  of  varied  interests.  His  zeal  for 
a  reform  of  church  music  led  him  to 
train  his  singers  and  sometimes  to 
act  as  their  leader  in  the  service  of 
song.  His  pastorate  was  at  the  time 
of  the  Trinitarian  and  Unitarian  con- 
troversy, and  a  ministerial  council 
that  did  not  install  him  and  another 
that  did,  naturally  made  him  conspic- 
uous as  a  leader  of  the  latter  forces  in 
this  section.  He  was  an  abolitionist, 
and  he  favored  total  abstinence.  He 
prepared  text-books  for  public 
schools,  and  like  other  ministers  fitted 
boys  for  college.  He  also  published 
pamphlets    on    educational,    political 


26 


OLDEN   TIME  MUSIC. 


and  musical  subjects ;  and  the  town's 
historian  records  that  "to  his  inspira- 
tion and  aid  Deerfield  is  largely  in- 
debted for  her  beautiful  shade  trees." 
Deerfield  was  his  residence,  with  only 
a  few  years'  exception,  from  the  be- 
ginning of  his  pastoral  work  to  his 
death.  The  historic  house  now  called 
m  his  honor  the  Willard  House,  be- 
came his  home.  There  he  lived  and 
worked.  Failing  sight  caused  him 
to  abandon  the  pastoral  office,  but  did 
not  diminish  his  activities.  Most  of 
his  literary  work  was  done  after  he  be- 
came blind. 

There  was  another  attempt  in  the 
Valley  to  remedy  the  want  of  adapta- 
tion of  hymns  and  tunes.  It  is  pro- 
mulgated in  a  book  of  vest  pocket 
size,  entitled  "Music  Adapted  to  Lan- 
guage." Thi|  is  a  hymn  and  tune 
book  in  one,  like  Dr.  Willard's. 
A  "new  and  simple  notation"  is  intro- 
duced. The  music,  by  a  "new 
and  easy  method  of  variation," 
is  made  to  conform  to  language. 
The  author  was  William  Bull  of 
Shelburne.  Dr.  Willard  acknowl- 
edged some  indebtedness  to  Mr.  Bull. 
The  two  approached  the  same  prob- 
lem from  different  directions.  One 
adapted  hymns  to  the  tunes,  the  other 
tunes  to  the  hymns.  In  his  new  sys- 
tem of  notation,  Mr.  Bull  followed 
Andrew  Law  in  discarding  the  staff, 
and  the  Rev.  John  Tufts,  the  first 
publisher  of  a  tune  book  in  New  Eng- 
land, in  using  the  initial  leters  of  the 
syllables  in  place  of  notes.  He  used 
the  common  notes,  however,  for  pur- 
poses of  illustration.  The  date  of  this 
book  is  1819;  and  it  is  a  unique  addi- 
tion to  the  collection  of  the  Valley. 

There  was  a  period  of  extempo- 
raneous hymn  making  in  New  Eng- 
land contemporaneous  with  the  mul- 
tiplication of  sects.  These  hymns 
are  crude  in  taste  and  often  ungram- 
matical  in  construction,  and  the 
books  into  which  they  were  gathered 
are  sectarian  in  the  most  obnoxious 
form.  This  phase  of  religion  and 
hymnology  is  illustrated  in  a  book 
sent  forth  into  the  world  from  Green- 


field, in  1818,  under  the  innocent  title 
of  "Selection  of  Hymns  from  Best 
Authors,  by  Elders  Paul  Hines  and 
Jonathan  Wilson."  It  contains  selec- 
tions from  the  standard  hymn  writers 
and  also  numerous  productions  by 
unknown  and  unnamed  rhymesters. 
The  following  stanzas  of  one  hymn 
will  indicate  for  whom  this  selection 
was  made  and  also  its  character: 

"Come  all  who  are  New  Lights  indeed, 
Who  are  from  sin  and  bondage  freed; 
From  Egypt's  land  we've  took  our  flight. 
For  God  has  given  us  a  New  Light. 

"Though  by  the  world  we  are  disdain'd 
And  have  our  names  cast  out  by  men; 
Yet  Christ  our  Captain  for  us  fights. 
Nor  death,  nor  hell,  can  hurt  New  lights. 

"Come  sinners  with  us  New  Lights  join. 
And  taste  the  joys  that  are  divine; 
Bid  all  your  carnal  mirth  adieu, 
Come  join  and  be  a  New  light,  too." 

The  customs  in  singing  prevailing 
in  other  parts  of  New  England  were 
observed  in  the  Valley.  The  psalms 
and  hymns  were  lined  or  deaconed. 
The  minister  read  the  psalm  or  hymn 
to  be  sung,  then  the  deacon  or  leader 
named  the  tune,  gave  the  pitch  and 
read  line  by  line  for  the  congregation 
to  sing  after  him.  The  advent  of  the 
singing  school,  which  developed  the 
choir,  and  the  multiplication  of  music 
and  hynm  books  were  the  chief  causes 
for  the  passing  of  this  unmusical 
practice.  It  must  also  be  acknowl- 
edged that  "the  repeating  tunes,"  as 
the  fugues  were  sometimes  called, 
aided  this  reform.  When  the  choir 
was  struggling  with  the  entangled 
measures  of  "a  repeating  tune,"  the 
reading  but  added  another  voice  to 
the  confusion.  The  good  deacon 
would  have  been  required  to  practise 
vocal  jugglery  and  speak  parts  of  two 
or  three  lines  at  the  same  time.  There 
is  record  at  Northfield,  in  1770,  that 
"hereafter  the  singers  shall  sing  al- 
together without  the  deacon's  read- 
ing the  psalm  line  by  line,  except  at 
the  Lord's  table."  Ten  years  later 
Rrimfield  omitted  the  reading  at  one 
of    the    two    Sunday    services.     This 


OLDEN   TIME  MUSIC. 


27 


custom  lingered  in  some  churches 
longer  than  in  others,  as  musical  de- 
velopment was  unequal  then  as  now. 

The  singing  school  trained  young 
men  and  maidens  for  the  choir. 
Jonathan  Edwards  preached  that 
"parents  ought  to  be  careful  that  their 
children  are  instructed  in  singing, 
that  they  may  be  capable  of  perform- 
ing that  part  in  divine  worship.'" 
Others  taught  that  it  was  the  duty  of 
parents  to  make  sacred  harmony  a 
part  of  the  religious  education  of  their 
children ;  and  Dr.  Lathrop  exhorted 
people  who  could  not  sing  to  contrib- 
ute money  for  the  support  of  psalm- 
ody. The  singing  school  was  recog- 
nized also  as  a  social  factor  and  val- 
uable as  a  substitute  for  amusements 
that  were  morally  obnoxious. 

The  bass  viol,  the  violin,  the  flute 
and  the  clarionet  were  the  common 
musical  instruments  taken  into  the 
singing  seats. 

The  settlement  of  questions  of 
church  music  by  the  town  meeting 
may  seem  an  unwarrantable  interfer- 
ence of  the  town  with  the  church,  un- 
til we  remember  that  the  town  per- 
formed the  functions  of  the  parish  in 
those  early  days.  It  raised  the  salary 
of  the  minister,  built  the  meeting- 
house, voted  money  for  bass  viols  and 
for  singing  schools,  chose  the  leader 
of  the  singing  or  delegated  the  privi- 
lege to  the  singers,  and  in  some  in- 
stances made  minute  regulations  for 
the  performance  of  singing.  A  Wil- 
braham  town  meeting,  through  a 
committee,     made     a     list     of    tunes 


which  might  be  sung,  and  no  others 
were  to  be  sung  in  public  worship 
without  "consent."  A  custom  that 
is  illustrated  in  the  Wilbraham  rec- 
ords is  the  beating  of  time  with  the 
hands  by  the  congregation.  A  com- 
mittee of  ten  appointed  by  the  town 
to  consider  "the  Broken  state  of  this 
town  with  regard  to  singing,"  recom- 
mended, "As  the  Beating  with  the 
hands  in  the  congregation  when  sing- 
ing is  offensive  to  some,  it  be  laid 
aside  as  quick  as  may  be  and  confine 
the  same  to  the  school  only."  The 
manner  of  beating  time  for  measures 
having  four  beats,  as  explained  by 
Elias  Mann,  was:  "Let  the  ends  of 
the  fingers  fall,  then  the  heel  of  the 
hand ;  thirdly,  raise  the  heel  of  the 
hand,  and  fourthly  throw  up  the  ends 
of  the  fingers." 

These  old  books  take  us  back  into 
another  world  of  church  music.  The 
customs  of  that  world  have  passed 
away.  The  bass  viol  and  the  old  in- 
struments are  gone  from  the  singing 
gallery ;  the  choir,  the  fugue,  the  old 
psalm  book,  the  old  tune  book, 
the  deacon  reading  the  psalm,  the 
counter  singer — all  have  gone.  The 
old  customs  have  given  place  to 
better  ones.  They  represent  a 
stage  in  the  musical  development  of 
the  Valley  and  of  the  country.  From 
these  beginnings  has  arisen  a  broader 
musical  culture.  The  old  music  pre- 
pared the  way  for  the  new,  and  a 
fairer  temple  of  praise  is  being  erected 
on  the  foundations  of  the  olden-time 
psalmody. 


OF  PRINC?> 
MAR  3  1937  v 


A   CURIOUS    NEW    HAMPSHIRE   CHARACTER. 

By  Clara  Spalding  Ellis. 


EVERY  New  England  town  has 
its  odd  character,  furnishing 
amusement  or  wonder  for  his 
contemporaries,  and  forming  a  fa- 
vorite topic  for  "grandpa"  in  later 
years,  when  pressed  for  reminiscences 
by  a  rising  generation.  The  most  in- 
teresting "character"  in  the  writer's 
native  town  was  the  oft  quoted 
"Doctor  Jones."  Frequently  at  the 
dinner  table  did  our  father  repeat  this 
rhyme  for  the  pleasure  of  his  children: 

"Cursed  be  the  owls 
That  picked  these  fowls, 
And  leftithe  bones 
For  Doctor  Jones." 

Many  children  of  larger  growth 
have  queried,  in  the  past  hundred 
years,  "Who  was  Doctor  Jones?"  for 
the  allusions  to  him  have  been  nu- 
merous in  more  than  one  township. 
Soon  after  the  Revolution  a  stranger 
appeared  in  the  village  of  Hollis,  New 
Hampshire,  who  announced  himself 
as  John  Jones,  an  Englishman,  the 
only  son  of  a  British  army  officer, 
born  early  in  the  eighteenth  century. 
He  was  eccentric  in  manner  and 
dress,  but  was  always  gentlemanly, 
and  ere  long  so  endeared  himself  to 
the  community  that  he  was  received 
with  a  cordial  welcome  whenever  he 
chose  to  present  himself  at  any  door. 
Many  times  he  partook  thus  infor- 
mally of  the  family  meal,  when  he 
could  be  depended  on  to  offer  grace 
in  some  impromptu  but  neat  and  ap- 
propriate manner. 

He  bought  four  acres  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  town,  on  what  is  called 
Mooar's  Hill,  and  built  a  small  house, 
which  he  named  "Lone  Cottage,"  and 
there  he  dwelt  in  solitude.  He  was 
the  first  person  to  introduce  grafted 
fruit  into  Hollis.  He  set  out  an 
orchard  of  choice  varieties,  which  he 
tended  with  great  care.  He  also  cul- 
28 


tivated  many  kinds  of  shrubs,  flowers 
and  herbs.  He  supported  himself  by 
preparing  medicinal  herbs,  growing 
some  in  his  garden  and  searching  the 
woods  for  others.  He  mixed  various 
nostrums,  and  peddled  them  in  Hollis 
and  neighboring  towns,  until  he  be- 
.came  known  as  "Doctor  Jones."  On 
these  long  walks  from  house  to  house 
he  wore  a  broad-brimmed  hat  with  a 
mourning  weed  around  it  and  a  long 
plaid  dressing  gown,  and  carried  two 
baskets,  one  bearing  the  name  of 
"Charity,"  the  other  that  of  "Pity." 
In  these  were  his  herbs  and  medi- 
cines, some  "Liberty  tea,"  juniper 
berries  in  their  season,  scions  for 
grafting,  etc.,  which  he  exchanged  for 
other  articles. 

He  also  sold  copies  of  verses  of  his 
own  composition,  particularly  a  ballad 
composed  before  his  arrival  in  Hol- 
lis, which  was  entitled  "The  Major's 
Only  Son  and  His  True  Love."  It 
contained  forty  stanzas,  and  recited 
the  story  of  his  woes  ;  for  the  erratic 
"Doctor"  was  the  victim  of  an  unfor- 
tunate love  which  clouded  his  whole 
life.  After  his  story  became  known 
to  the  townspeople  he  was  regarded 
wi.th  the  peculiar  interest  and  sympa- 
thy that  the  hero  of  a  tender  but  hope- 
less attachment  never  fails  to  excite. 
His  father,  it  was  learned,  belonged 
to  a  good  family  and  possessed  inde- 
pendent means.  The  only  son  was 
educated  for  the  ministry,  and  when 
but  twenty  years  of  age  received  and 
accepted  a  call  to  preach.  He  had  a 
bright  intellect,  a  poetical  tendency, 
and  much  native  wit  and  humor.  A 
promising  career  seemed  opening  for 
the  young  man  ;  but  all  was  changed 
by  the  power  of  an  ardent  affection, 
which  had  been  inspired  by  a  girl  to 
whom  his  family  were  opposed, 

"Because  she  was  of  low  degree, 
And  came  of  a  poor  family." 


A    CURIOUS   NEW    HAMPSHIRE    CHARACTER. 


29 


The  lovers  were  separated,  and  the 
mind  of  young  Jones  became  unset- 
tled, while  the  hapless  maiden  sank 
into  an  early  grave.  England  had  no 
further  charm  for  her  adorer,  and  he 
became  a  wanderer.  After  travelling 
extensively  over  the  American  col- 
onies he  sought  a  quiet  place  in  which 
to  pass  his  declining  years  ;  and  there, 
close  to  the  homestead  of  the  writer's 
paternal  grandfather,  in  Southern 
New  Hampshire,  he  lived,  devoted  to 
the  memory  of  his  lost  love.  He  was 
often  heard  singing  the  verses  of  "The 
Major's  Only  Son,"  as  he  pottered 
about  his  lonely  home ;  and  eighty 
years  ago  it  was  a  favorite  song  with 
the  young  people  of  Hollis,  who 
learned  the  lines  by  heart  and  ques- 
tioned their  parents,  with  interest  and 
sympathy,  about  the  strange  charac- 
ter whose  grave,  uniquely  marked  by 
his  own  order,  was  that  of  an  alien  in 
a  strange  land.  The  ballad  opens  as 
follows : 

"Come  all  young  people  far  and  near, 
A  lamentation  you  shall  hear, 
Of  a  young  man  and  his  True-Love, 
Whom  he  adored  and  prized  above 
All  riches." 

The  displeasure  of  his  father  and 
mother  with  the  station  of  their 
only  child's  inamorata  is  next  de- 
scribed, and  then  a  new  element  of 
trouble — the  anger  of  the  girl's  father 
when  he  learns  that  his  daughter  is 
scorned  because  of  her  lowly  birth. 

"My  daughter  is  as  good  as  you," 

the  irate  man  declares  when  John  is 
visiting  his  house  one  day ;  and  then 
the  ballad  says, 

"Turned  this  young  man  without  his  door. 
And  told  him  to  come  there  no  more." 

Soon  after  this  unhappy  scene  the 
maiden's  health  failed ;  she  was  con- 
fined to  her  chamber  and  slowly  pined 
away.  Shortly  before  her  death  she 
sent  her  brother  for  her  lover,  and 
talked  with  him  a  long  time,  speaking 
mournfully  of  her  sickness  and 
broken  heart.     She  gave  him  the  en- 


gagement  ring  and  several   trinkets, 
saying : 

"Keep  them  for  my  sake, 
And  always  when  these  rings  you  see, 
Remember  that  I  died  for  thee." 

A  few  months  ago  the  writer  was 
shown  these  mementoes  by  the  de- 
scendant of  a  young  man  to  whom 
the  "Doctor"  became  so  attached  that 
he  bequeathed  him  the  precious  relics 
and  other  property,  by  a  will  dated 
January  1,  1791.  There  were  two 
slender,  broken  gold  bands,  with  in- 
scriptions faintly  discernible — the  one 
which  he  had  worn  to  bind  the  troth, 
and  the  one  taken  from  the  finger  of 
the  dying  girl — a  pair  of  sleeve  links 
and  an  old-fashioned  brooch,  mutely 
telling  the  tale  that  never  grows  old 
and  thrills  the  heart  of  all  humanity. 

The  grief  of  the  bereaved  youth  is 
thus  described: 

"Tears  down  his  cheek  as  fountains  run. 
He  cried,  alas!   I  am  undone. 
No  comfort  ever  shall  I  have, 
While  I  go  mourning  to  my  grave." 

He  attended  the  funeral,  so  the 
song  tells  us, 

"Dressed  in  black  from  top  to  toe. 
And  after  that  distracted  run. 
And  so  forever  was  undone, 
And  wandered  up  and  down,  alone." 

Hollis  people  relate  many  anec- 
dotes illustrating  his  oddity  and 
humor.  He  was  known  to  all  the 
country  roundabout,  and  his  whim- 
sical wit  and  quick  repartee  were  so 
enjoyed  that  he  was  sometimes  ban- 
tered simply  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
voking one  of  his  characteristic  an- 
swers. Particularly  was  this  the  case 
during  the  sessions  of  the  courts  at 
Amherst,  the  county  seat,  which  it 
was  his  habit  to  attend,  the  lawyers 
finding  much  amusement  in  his  com- 
pany. Once,  on  the  occasion  of  a  din- 
ner to  the  judges,  he  was  placed  at  the 
second  table.  He  regarded  this  as  an 
indignity,  and  was  not  pleased  with 
the  viands  remaining  from  the  first 
table ;  so,  instead  of  giving  thanks  in 
his  usual  manner  at  the  end  of  the  re- 


30 


A    CURIOUS   NEW    HAMPSHIRE    CHARACTER. 


past,  he  delivered  the  lines  quoted  in 
tne  beginning  of  this  article,  "Cursed 
be  the  owls,"  etc.,  as  expressive  of 
his  feelings. 

He  would  not  tell  his  age,  always 
evading  the  question  with  some 
whimsicality.  A  lady  customer  of 
uncertain  years,  when  buying  some 
tea  of  him,  made  an  attempt  to  dis- 
cover when  he  was 
born.  In  reply  he 
told  her  that  she 
might  ask  him  as 
many  questions  on 
the  subject  as  she 
was  years  old.  The 
woman  was  so 
nettled  that  she 
called  him  "an  old 
cracked  fiddle  of 
one  doleful  tune," 
and  demanded  friat 
he  take  back  his 
tea  and  return  her 
money ;  whereupon 
the  "Doctor"  made 
use  of  his  ready 
rhyming  faculty 
and,  without  a  moment's  hesitation, 
said: 

"Phebe,  my  dear,  my  own  sweet  honey, 
You've    got    your    tea    and    I've    got    my 
money." 

Having  been  educated  for  the  min- 
istry, he  enjoyed  attending  the  meet- 
ings of  the  Hollis  Association  of  Min- 
isters, a  noted  organization  in  those 
days,  and  sometimes  proposed  ques- 
tions for  discussion.  One  of  these  is 
said  to  have  been,  "Was  there  ever  a 
man  that  had  a  tongue  which  never 
told  a  lie,  or  a  heart  which  never  had 
an  evil  thought?"  The  question  was 
decided  unanimously  in  the  negative, 
and  the  decision  was  backed  up  by 
quotations  from  Scripture.  The  "Doc- 
tor" declared  that  they  were  wrong 
and  he  could  prove  it.  He  went  out 
for  one  of  his  baskets,  uncovered  it, 


and  showed  them  in  triumph  the  head 
and  heart  of  a  sheep,  exclaiming, 
"There  is  a  tongue  that  never  told  a 
lie  and  a  heart  that  never  had  an  evil 
thought — and  they  are  both  mine." 
He  died  on  the  fourteenth  of  July, 
17Q6.  His  gravestone  had  been  ready 
for  some  years,  prepared  by  three 
young     men     whom     he     laughingly 


THE  OLD  HOLLIS  CHURCH  AND  CHURCHYARD. 

called  his  adopted  sons.  They  be- 
longed to  families  residing  in  the  part 
of  town  where  he  had  settled,  and  he 
associated  with  them  more  intimately 
than  with  other  persons,  and  remem- 
bered them  in  his  will.  The  stone,  a 
large  slab  of  slate,  was  completed  ac- 
cording to  his  directions,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  space  left  for  the  date  of 
his  demise.  The  epitaph  was  his  own 
composition,  and  may  still  be  seen  in 
the  old  cemetery  at  the  rear  of  the 
Hollis  Congregational  Church,  in  the 
centre  of  the  town.  Visitors  stop 
and  gaze  in  curiosity,  and  ask  to  hear 
the  story  of  "Doctor  Jones,"  while 
they  read: 

"In  youth  he  was  a  scholar  bright, 
In  learning  he  took  great  delight, 
He  was  a  Major's  only  son, 
It  was  for  love  he  was  undone." 


l  ne  Connecticut  vu<nicny. 

Vol.  II.  April,  May,  June,   1896.  No.  2. 


OLD  TIME  MUSIC  AND  MUSICIANS. 

BY    N.    H.    ALLEN. 


The  organ  which  did  service  in  Trinity  Church,  Newport,  for  more  than  a 
century  was  not  accepted  cheerfully  when  first  presented  by  Bishop  Berkeley  to 
the  town  in  Massachusetts  bearing  his  name.  Indeed,  it  was  so  stoutly  opposed 
that  it  lay  in  its  original  packing  several  years  ;  and  as  sentiment  had  not  changed, 
it  was  taken  to  Newport,  where  the  people  were  readier  to  accept  it,  and  it  there 
became  known  as  a  famous  instrument. 
In  Middletown  there  was  a  case  with 
similar  features.  The  Episcopalians  had 
been  slowly  increasing  in  numbers  before 
1750,  and  had  long  desired  to  erect  a 
modest  church  edifice,  but  there  was  oppo- 
sition from  the  authorities,  and  no  suitable 
lot  could  be  procured  because  of  it.  At 
length  a  low,  boggy  piece  of  land  was 
granted,  as  good  for  nothing  else  ;  but 
there  were  men  of  force,  notably  the  broth- 
ers-in-law, Joseph  Wright  and  Richard 
Alsop,  who  were  ready  to  go  ahead,  rathei 
than  wait  longer,  and  by  draining  and 
filling  make  a  safe  spot  on  which  to  erect 
a  church.  Christ  Church  was  finished  in 
1755,  and  Richard  Alsop  imported  an  organ 
from  England  and  presented  it  to  the 
parish.  In  1785  his  brother,  John  Alsop, 
then  residing  in  New  York,  presented  a 
bell,  and  this  bell  is  still  in  use  in  Trinity 
Church.  This  organ,  ornamented  with 
the  crown  and  mitre,  stirred  up  strife  enough,  and  no  doubt  increased  the  ill-will 
that  was  manifested  towards  this  church  for  many  years.  It  remained  in  place, 
however,  until  near  the  end  of  the  century,  and  soon  after  its  removal  the  church 
edifice  itself  was  destroyed.  In  Hartford,  the  first  organ  was  in  Christ  Church. 
It  was  built  not  far  from  i8co,  and  was  a  home  product.  George  Catlin  was  the 
maker,  and  his  shop  on  the  Windsor  road  was  about  opposite  the  north  cemetery. 
This  organ  was  a  small  affair,  hardly  more  than  five  or  six  feet  square,  a 
mere  "box  of  whistles."  It  does  not  appear  that  it  was  purchased  outright  at  first ; 
for  the  agreement  with  Mr.  Catlin  was,  that  he  should  receive  two  dollars  per  Sun- 
day for  its  use,  out  of  which  he  was  to  provide  a  suitable  person  to  play  the  instru- 
ment. It  evidently  became  the  property  of  the  parish  later,  for  in  1812  another 
organ  was  built  by  Catlin  and  Bacon,  which  cost  five  hundred  dollars,  and  the  old 
organ  was  taken  by  the  builders  at  a  valuation  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 
In  1829  a  subscription  was  started  for  the  purpose  of  raising  seven  thousand  dol- 
lars, a  part  of  which  was  to  be  applied  to  the  purchase  of  a  third  organ  when  the 


HENRY    W.    GREATOREX. 


'54 


OLD    TIME  MUSIC  AND  MUSICIANS. 


new  church  should  be  finished.  This  organ  was  the  one  built  by  the  Hook  Broth- 
ers of  Boston,  on  which  Downes  and  Wilson  played  so  many  years  and  which  has 
but  recently  given  place  to  a  fourth  and  much  larger  instrument.  Before  the  third 
organ  was  purchased,  some  orchestral  instruments  were  used,  and  money  was 
appropriated  to  hire  a  teacher  of  singing,  and  the  name  of  Mr.  Ives,  mentioned  in 
the  last  chapter,  appears  as  one  of  these  teachers.  Christ  Church  maintained  at 
the  time  a  musical  society,  from  which  the  choir  was  no  doubt  recruited,  and 
which  gave  occasional  sacred  concerts  in  the  church. 

From  1795  to  r799  the  First  Ecclesiastical  Society,  now  popularly  known  as 
the  Center  Church,  voted  fifteen  pounds  yearly  "for  the  encouragement  of  psalm- 
ody." From  1800  to  1807  the  society  voted  fifty  dollars 
yearly  for  the  same  purpose,  and  from  1808  to  1813,  one 
hundred  dollars  yearly  ;  thence  on  to  1820,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  one  year,  with  a  yearly  appropriation  of  seventy-five 
dollars.  In  the  records  of  the  society  may  be  found  the 
following  entry: 

"At  a  special  Meeting  of  the  First  Ecclesiastical  Society 
in  the  Town  of  Hartford,  legally  warned  and  held  at  the 
North  Conference  House  in  said  Hartford 
on  the  first  day  of  June,  1822,  warned  at  the 
request  of  the  subscribers  for  an  Organ  for 
the  Brick  Meeting  House  in  said  society, 

"Andrew  Kingsbury,  Esqr.,  was  chosen 
Moderator. 

"Voted,  That  this  Society  will  cheerfully 
accept  of  an  Organ  now  offered  to  be  pro- 
cured and  put  up  by  individuals  of  the 
Society  for  the  use  of  the  same,  and  will, 
when  said  Organ  is  procured  prepare  a  place 
for  the  same  in  their  House  of  Public 
Worship,  keep  said  Organ  in  proper  condi- 
tion for  use,  and  a  suitable  Organist  for  the 
same." 

[Does  this  mean  that  the  organist  was 
to  be  kept  in  proper  condition  for  use?] 

"Voted,  That  Mr.  Lynde  Olmsted  be 
appointed  in  conjunction  with  the  Society's  committee  to  carry  into  effect  the 
above   vote." 

Another  entry  in  the  records  of  the  year  1822  is  as  follows  : 
"Upon  the  Petition  of  Daniel  Colt,  as  President,  Flavel  Goldthwaite,  Thomas 
Smith,  George  W.  Bolles,  and  Christopher  C.  Lyman,  as  officers  of  the  Jubal 
Society  of  Hartford,  whose  object  is  the  improvement  of  the  members  of  said 
Society  in  the  scientific  and  practical  knowledge  of  Music,  etc.,  praying  for  the  use 
of  the  Meeting  House  four  evenings  in  the  year,  to  exhibit  their  performances, 
with  liberty  to  sell  Tickets  of  admission  for  defraying  the  expenses  they  may 
incur,  etc.,  as  per  petition  on  file.      It  was  on  the  Petition  — 

"Voted,  That  the  Society's  Committee  be  authorized  to  permit  the  Jubal 
Society  to  perform  Sacred  music  in  the  Meeting  House  with  open  doors,  and  with 
liberty  of  a  Contribution,  but  without  any  sale  of  Tickets." 

I  hope  to  get  further  information  about  this  society  for  a  subsequent  chapter. 
It  was  probably  the   first   choral   society  in   Hartford   of  any  importance,  and   pre- 


AUSTRIAN     PI  AND. 


OLD    TIME  MUSIC  AND  MUSIC  I A  XS. 


'55 


CO  I  A' Mill  AN     HART. 


pared  the  way  for  the  Beethoven  and  other  societies  which  performed  oratorio. 
No  mention  is  made  of  the  builder  of  the  first  organ  for  the  Center  Church.     It 
may  have  been  built  by  Catlin  and  Bacon,  but   if  ordered  elsewhere,  I  am  inclined 
to  think  it  was  furnish- 
ed by  William  Goodrich 
of  Boston, successor  to 
Leavitt  and  forerunner 
of    Appleton,    and    for 
his  time  the  most  suc- 
cessful    organ-builder 
in  New  England. 

In  1824  thesociety 
voted  "  to  pay  Lynde 
Olmsted  one  hundred 
dollars  for  his  services 
in  promoting  Church 
Music  the  year  past." 
The  three  follow- 
ing years,  two  hundred 
dollars  were  voted  for 
an  organist,  and  one  hundred  for  "Church  Musick." 

At  the  Historical  Society's  rooms  may  be  seen  a  subscription  paper  which  was 
circulated  in    1822,  for  the   purchase   of  a   bass  viol  for  the   Universalist   Church, 
then   located  on  Central    Row.      The    list   contains 
thirty-three  names,  and  the  sums  subscribed  range 
from    six    dollars    down   to   fifty   cents.      With    this 
paper   is   also    preserved    a   bill    of    Hall    &    Erben, 
organ  builders,  dated  New  York,   Jan.  15,  1827,  for 
an   organ   set   up  at  that   time  in   the    Universalist  f| 
Church.     The  bill  is  made  out  to  Wm.  Connor.     The 
organ  was  brought  here  in  a  sloop  from  New  York. 
Mr.  Henry  Erben,  the  junior  member  of  this  firm, 
and   then    a    very    young    man,   afterwards    became 
famous   as   an   organ   builder,   and   built    many   fine 
instruments.     There  are   two  of   his   organs 
now  in  use  in  Hartford,  that  in  St.  Patrick's 
Church,  a  very  large  instrument,  and  that  in 
the     Pearl     street    Congregational     Church, 
which  when  new  was  probably  the  best  organ 
in   the  city.     If  I  mistake  not,   this  Hall  & 
Erben     organ,     built     for    the     Universalist 
society,   was,   after  many  years'   use,  rebuilt 
by   McCollom,   who   had   a  shop   on    Market 
street,  and  about  whom  more  will  be  written 
later. 

Taking  a  little  jump  to  1835,  one  comes  ENGLISH  ,  ,  n. 
upon  an  event  of  unusual  importance  and  (side  view.) 
interest  in  the  musical  annals  of  Hartford.  Thomas  Appleton  of  Boston  had 
been  commissioned  to  build  an  organ  for  the  Center  Church,  which  was  to  have 
three  manuals  and  a  heavy  pedal,  and  was  to  be  in  all  respects  the  equal  of  any 
organ  in  the  country.     The  instrument  was  brought  from  Boston  in  the  schooner 


ENG1  ISH    LUTE. 


156  OLD    TIME  MUSIC  AND  MUSICIANS. 

Lydia,  which  arrived  at  the  foot  of  State  street  on  the  2d  day  of  April.  On  Sun- 
day, the  17th  of  May,  it  was  heard  for  the  first  time,  and  a  great  deal  was  made  of 
the  event.  Lowell  Mason,  then  at  the  height  of  his  reputation,  was  invited  to  give 
an  illustrated  lecture  on  church  music,  and  with  him  came  Geo.  James  Webb  of 
Boston  to  play  the  organ.  A  large  chorus  choir  had  been  organized  and  drilled  by 
Mr.  Benjamin  C.  Wade  of  Springfield,  Mass.,  and  for  this  occasion  all  the  other 
choirs  of  the  city  were  invited  to  be  present  and  take  part.  This  was  on  the  Mon- 
day following  the  first  use  of  the  organ,  and  was  an  occasion  in  which  the  whole 
city  took  a  lively  interest.  Samuel  A.  Cooper  was  engaged  at  once  as  organist, 
and  was  an  efficient  worker,  and  from  time  to  time  gave  oratorios  with  his  choir. 
Neukomm's  David  was  a  work  then  in  vogue,  and  was  given  by  Mr.  Cooper  sev- 
eral times.  He  remained  three  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Henry  W.  Greatorex, 
an  English  organist,  who  was  engaged  for  the  place  before  leaving  England.  Mr. 
Greatorex  was  considered  a  remarkable  player  for  the  times,  and  enjoyed  an 
unusual  popularity.  He  remained  but  two  years,  left  the  city  for  a  short  period, 
and  returned  to  play  the  organ  in  St.  John's  Church;  remaining  there  several 
years.  He  subsequently  went  to  Charleston,  S.  C,  where  he  died.  The  name  of 
Greatorex  was  popularly  known  throughout  the  country,  twenty-five  or  thirty 
years  ago,  by  a  collection  of  original  anthems  and  hymn  tunes  which  he  published. 
Greatorex  came  of  a  musical  family.  His  father,  Thomas  Greatorex,  was  a  highly 
educated  and  prominent  musician  ;  at  one  time  organist  of  the  cathedral  of  Car- 
lisle, and  for  twenty-seven  years  conductor  of  the  so-called  Ancient  Concerts  in 
London,  after  which  he  was  appointed  to  succeed  Dr.  Cooke  as  organist  and  mas- 
ter of  the  boys  at  Westminster  Abbey.  The  likeness  of  Mr.  Henry  Greatorex, 
here  given,  is  said  to  be  excellent  by  some  who  knew  him  well.  He  was  succeeded 
at  the  Center  Church  by  Mr.  Otto  Jacobsohn,  who  played  one  year,  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  Mr.  Joseph  Monds,  who  remained  five  years.  The  next  organist  was  Dr. 
James  G.  Barnett,  who  held  the  post  twenty  years.  I  shall  have  a  good  deal  more 
to  say  about  Dr.  Barnett  in  the  next  chapter,  when  the  history  of  the  Beethoven 
Society  is  given,  and  shall  then  present  a  portrait  of  him.  Since  the  last  number 
of  the  Quarterly  appeared,  I  have  stumbled  upon  some  rare  and  curious  old  instru- 
ments, to  a  description  of  which  I  will  give  the  remainder  of  the  allotted  space. 

In  the  Historical  Rooms  at  Bristol  is  an  upright  piano  that  should  interest  the 
musical  antiquary  greatly.  But  little  can  be  gleaned  of  its  history,  and  it  must 
speak  for  itself.  It  was  made  in  Vienna  by  one  Lautmann,  and  it  has  features  that 
seem  contradictory  in  trying  to  determine  its  age.  The  action,  i.  e.,  the  hammers, 
jacks,  etc.,  give  evidence  of  great  age.  Judging  by  cuts  given  in  various  books, 
the  hammers  are  very  similar  to  those  used  soon  after  the  piano-forte  mechanism 
was  invented.  The  Italian  Christofori  is  said  to  have  invented  the  piano-forte  in 
1709.  Marius,  a  Frenchman,  exhibited  his  invention  to  the  Academy  in  Paris  in 
1716,  while  Schroeter  first  made  his  known  in  Germany  in  1717.  It  is  said  that 
each  of  these  men  wrought  in  ignorance  of  the  other's  doings. 

The  Bristol  piano,  however,  has  a  compass  of  six  octaves,  which  is  evidence  of 
a  considerably  later  date.  Of  course  there  is  no  iron  bracing  of  any  sort,  as  iron 
was  first  used  for  that  purpose  in  American  pianos,  and  not  earlier  than  1820. 

The  stringing  is  very  light,  and  the  tone  could  never  have  been  strong.  But 
much  of  the  interest  in  this  old  piano  lies  in  the  accessories.  There  are  four 
pedals,  and  in  the  space  below  the  action  is  a  drum  and  cymbals  worked  by  the 
pedals,  and  also  a  harp  imitation,  which  is  probably  something  applied  to  the 
strings  where  the  hammers  strike  them.  The  exterior,  even  in  its  present  ruinous 
state,  gives  evidence   of  former  beauty.     There   are   many   applied   ornaments  in 


OLD    TIME  MUSIC  AND  MUSICIANS.  157 

brass,  and  the  front,  both  above  and  below  the  keyboard,  is  filled  in  with  silk, 
which  was  once  red,  in  wide  plaiting.  The  instrument  is  evidently  a  hundred 
years  old,  and  possibly  much  more  than  that. 

Mr.  Richards,  who  will  show  visitors  the  collection  in  which  this  piano  stands, 
has  an  old  instrument  at  his  home,  which  he  calls  a  Columbian  harp.  It  is  a  rather 
rude  affair,  and  a  cut  is  here  given.  It  is  built  into  the  box  which  serves  as  its 
case,  is  perhaps  two  feet  and  a  half  long  and  ten  inches  wide.  The  case  is  the 
rudest  part  of  it,  for  the  wood  never  knew  the  touch  of  a  plane,  and  shows  the 
original  marks  of  the  saw  by  which  the  boards  were  cut  from  the  log.  Inside  more 
care  has  been  taken,  and  the  wood  is  well  selected  and  finished.  It  has  six  or 
eight  strings,  about  one-half  of  which  have  frets  under  them,  and  in  this  respect  it 
is  like  a  zither  in  principle.  It  is  provided  with/  holes,  like  a  violin,  and  appar- 
ently has  a  sounding-board  throughout  half  its  length.  It  is  evidently  an  instru- 
ment of  little  musical  value,  and  is  interesting  chiefly  as  a  curiosity. 

Another  instrument  of  even  greater  interest  than  the  Austrian  piano  is  the 
one  described  below  by  Mr.  Marcus  A.  Casey,  who  has  kindly  permitted  me  to 
insert  his  copy. 

fudge  William  L.  Loomis  of  Suffield  is  the  possessor  of  an  ancient  musical 
instrument  known  as  the  English  lute,  probably  derived  from  the  Spanish  bandola. 
So  far  as  is  known,  there  is  no  other  specimen  in  this  country  save  the  one  in  the 
United  States  National  Museum  at  Washington.  The  body  of  that  instrument  is  a 
little  longer  and  more  "pear-shaped"  (as  the  lutanists  say)  than  Judge  Loomis's. 
The  instrument  in  the  museum  was  presented  to  Eleanor  Parke  Custis,  step- 
daughter of  Washington,  by  the  General  himself,  and  was  played  by  her.  It  is 
now  among  the  Washington  relics.  Both  instruments  were  made  by  Longman  & 
Brodrip,  No.  26  Cheapside  and  16  Haymarket,  London. 

Judge  Loomis's  lute  belonged  to  his  mother,  who  was  an  expert  player,  to  the 
extent  of  its  capabilities.  As  will  be  readily  seen,  the  metal  strings  are  struck  by 
six  hammers  beneath  the  keyboard,  on  the  principle  of  the  piano-forte.  The  sys- 
tem for  tuning  is  extremely  complicated,  and  there  are  many  reasons,  apparent  to 
musicians,  why  the  instrument  early  fell  into  disuse.  The  workmanship  and 
varnish  are  exceedingly  fine,  equaling  that  of  many  historic  violins.  The  ancient 
instrument  is  tenderly  preserved  in  the  original  case  made  for  it. 

Judge  Loomis  was  at  one  time  urged  to  present  his  instrument  to  the  Smith- 
sonian Institution,  that  it  might  be  preserved  in  companionship  with  the  Custis 
relic.  The  Judge  felt  obliged  to  decline  the  request,  stating  in  his  reply  that  "its 
early  associations,  and  not  its  intrinsic  value,  has  caused  it  to  be  retained  within 
the  family  and  household,  and  no  one  at  present  could  think  of  parting  with  it.  It 
would  be  like  removing  the  hearthstone,  or  the  old  brick  oven,  or  the  crane  in  the 
fireplace."  Here  and  there,  all  through  the  Loomis  mansion,  are  many  articles  of 
ancient  design  and  use,  including  old  china,  bowls,  vases,  antique  silver,  old  and 
curious  paintings,  chairs,  tables,  clocks,  etc. 

It  is  the  intention  to  give  more  information  as  to  the  early  organs  of  Hartford 
and  vicinity  in  the  next  paper,  and  also  of  the  musicians  who  were  active  in  the 
first  half  of  this  century. 


